The constructive nature of memories in insects: bumblebees as a case study

The view that human memory is constructive implies that recollections are not necessarily an accurate reproduction of past events. An approach to study this constructive nature of memory is by examining memory errors. In this regard, conjunction errors-i.e. incorrect recollection of new stimuli integrated by components from two previously studied stimuli-have attracted important attention in human memory research. Do animals other than humans make conjunction errors? To investigate this issue, a choice task in which training was not involved was used. Bees experienced two to-be-remembered stimuli. At the test, they were presented with four stimuli: one of the original items (i.e. old), an item made by combining two features of the original items (i.e. conjunction), an item containing a previously presented feature and a new one (i.e. feature), and an item integrated solely by new features (i.e. new). Bumblebees remembered the old items. Importantly, when making memory errors, bumblebees selected conjunction and feature lures more often than new items. These results indicate that bumblebees, like humans, spontaneously make memory conjunction errors and suggest that invertebrates' memories might also be constructive in nature. I suggest that focusing on memory errors is a solid avenue to investigate episodic (like) memory in animals.This article is part of the theme issue 'Elements of episodic memory: lessons from 40 years of research'.